


Water Under the Bridge

by StardustAndAsh



Series: Wild Life [4]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Drowning, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Near Death Experiences, Unreliable Narrator, Wild has memory issues, comfort in chapter 2, hopefully, hurt in chapter 1, mute Wild
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:27:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23609140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StardustAndAsh/pseuds/StardustAndAsh
Summary: Wild spies a korok circle floating on a river. Too bad they're not in his Hyrule.
Series: Wild Life [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1642186
Comments: 37
Kudos: 654





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This does follow along the Wild Life series, but can be read as a stand alone.

For once they had some time to rest on the road. The group had defeated some lizalfos with the telltale dark blood early on in Twilight’s Hyrule and with no portal whisking them away to the next location they decided to take the time to explore a bit and simply take some time to revel in the calm before the inevitable storm.

Wild was loving Twilight’s Hyrule. It wasn’t nearly as large or as open as his own, but there was a kind of untamed beauty to it. The fact that the group had decided not to stay in a city and instead go exploring through the forests also had something to do with Wild’s happiness. He was uncomfortable in the cities and towns the others’ worlds boasted. That many people, all in one place, crowding in and brushing against each other in the streets, it made Wild’s heart beat too fast and sweat gather on his palms. No, he much preferred trekking through the wilderness with the others and having the space to just be.

Of course, it still wasn’t quiet with the others along. Wind was a chatterbox, constantly telling stories and asking questions of the others. Warriors was often the most indulgent to Wind, answering questions with stories Wild was almost certain he was making up on the spot, as a lot of details contradicted themselves from story to story. Four often as not would join in, and his sly way of asking an offhand question or getting someone else to agree with him would soon have the others join in as well.

Sometimes Wild wished his voice worked properly so he could talk with the others without having someone translate his words. Other times he was glad to be left out of the conversation. The questions about each other’s Zeldas or particular cities and towns made Wild squirm even if they weren’t directed at him. There were so many things lost in his Hyrule. Too many things. And all he really knew about Zelda was that she didn’t seem particularly fond of him in the few memories he had of her. That, and she also hated her destiny. The only thing he could remember of her that didn’t involve her being upset was a blurry memory of her explaining the science of certain flora and fauna to him.

The only time Wild felt like he truly existed in the group was around mealtimes. After a few horrendous attempts at dinner from Hyrule, a charred lump that Legend insisted was bird meat grilled to perfection, and a small explosion in an unattended pot left by Wind, Wild had quietly but firmly inserted himself as party cook. The others were grateful for his cooking, and he could at least accept their help with chopping and finding ingredients.

With no need to be constantly moving, they had set up camp early in the afternoon and Wild had started a stew he knew needed a long time to cook and little attention once it was finally in the pot. Their spot for the night was idyllic. They were situated in a meadow next to a copse of verdant trees that sloped gently down to a rushing river. Tomorrow they would follow the nearby path over an old stone bridge and continue on their slowly meandering jouney. Wild breathed in the smell of rushing water, and the earthy scent of the grass beneath his feet and felt calm.

“Like it out here, Cub?” asked Twilight with a smile from the other side of their fire. He was relaxing against a fallen log, one hand playing absently with the long grass.

Wild nodded.

“Me too. I haven’t really been out here all that much since I went on my adventure. It’s a bit different, travelling with all of you instead,” said Twilight as he looked out over the scenery with distant eyes.

Wild nodded again, though wasn’t sure Twilight noticed. Wild looked back down at the stew, it was just starting to bubble and was ready to simmer for an hour or two. Looking back up at Twilight the far off look was still set firmly on his face. Wild bit his lip, and looked over to where Time was methodically sharpening his sword. He hadn’t seen Twilight get like this before, but to Wild it was probably similar to how he was when he remembered something. And while Wild knew what that was like, he didn’t know how to help Twilight.

Time, however, was a whole different story. Wild was still a little wary of Time, though he wasn’t sure why. There was something in the way he stood, the way he barked orders at them in tough situations, the way he cared for his weapons after ever fight that flitted against the shadow of Wild’s memory. And whatever that memory was it made him feel afraid. Yet Time was who Twilight trusted most, and Wild was starting to trust Twilight, so he rested the spoon against the edge of the pot and walked over to where Time sat.

Wild tapped Time on the shoulder to get his attention, and almost froze as his blue eyes turned to Wild, but pushed aside his discomfort.

_“Something’s up with Twilight,”_ signed Wild.

“Like what?” asked Time, instantly alert and packing away his whetstone.

_“Staring into space,”_ signed Wild, a bit of heat rising to his cheeks as he knew he probably sounded strange.

To his surprise and relief Time asked no more questions and got to his feet, leaving the biggorn sword lying in the grass. He took the time to stretch out his back before walking towards Twilight, Wild following a beat behind.

“Hey Pup,” said Time, crouching next to Twilight.

“Hey,” said Twilight softly. He still had that faraway look in his eyes but at least he responded to Time.

Wild’s hands found the edge of his cloak and began worrying at it as Time settled himself down more comfortably on the ground.

“Why don’t you go join the others at the river for a bit? I’ll make sure he’s okay,” Time suggested to Wild.

Wild hesitated, glancing at Twilight, but nodded and left, giving the pot a final stir as he passed it. The air was cooler down by the river, with the spray from where it collided with the rocks lining the bed misting over Wild as he approached. Four, Hyrule, and Wind were sitting by the edge of the bank, arguing about something.

“No, you have to put it here, in the middle, or it’ll just flip over,” said Wind.

“But if you put it at the back won’t it go faster with less surface contact,” argued Four.

“What if we put one in the middle and one in the back? Two would make it go faster, right?” said Hyrule, trying to appeal to the other two.

As Wild approached he could see that they had cobbled together a couple of sticks into a boat like object and were arguing about where to put their mast. The mast being another stick with a bit of scrap fabric that looked suspiciously like the end of Warriors’ scarf.

The trio turned to Wild as he approached almost in unison. Wild froze under their intent looks.

“Wild! You can settle this. Where should the mast go, middle or back?” demanded Four.

“I’m the sailor, I say it goes in the middle!” whined Wind.

Wild looked desperately to Hyrule, who just shook his head and shrugged.

_“Middle?”_ signed Wild awkwardly.

The others may still have been learning sign, but they understood that.

“WOO!” cheered Wind. “Middle it is, you heard Wild.”

Four muttered something under his breath that Wild was sure was neither kind nor complimentary. Neither of the others paid it any attention as they all set about attaching the makeshift mast with a bit of string from Four’s pocket.

Wild left them to it. It felt wrong to make and play with a toy. He was worried about Twilight. That, and he should be doing something. Cooking or guarding. Making sure Zelda was safe. Wild shook that thought from his head. Zelda was still stuck in the castle fighting Ganon. He’d failed to get her out and then been swept up by the other heroes.

He walked absently down the bank of the river. If not for the rocks that lined the bank Wild would be tempted to take off his boots and let the cold water rush over his ankles. As it was, he did not feel particularly like slicing his foot on a rock today. The scenery was not unlike the eastern edge of Hyrule field in his own world, and he could practically picture the stable in the distance. If he focussed he could even see Beedle walking around outside of it with his bizarrely huge backpack.

The sounds of Four, Hyrule, and Wind faded away as the sounds of the stable filtered in to Wild’s mind. He stepped up onto the path and made his way over to the stone bridge where it arced over the water. Distantly, Wild thought he could hear someone calling him, but it wasn’t enough to distract him from what he had just spotted in the water.

A circle of stones, just the kind the korok liked to set up and would give him a seed if he managed to jump through the centre. He pulled himself up onto the wall of the bridge and looked down at the water to judge his jump. Again, he thought he heard his name, distant and muffled. He almost looked back, but if it was a korok seed it would just be a quick dip and then he could see who wanted his attention.

With a deep breath Wild jumped off the stone bridge and into the water. It was a lot colder than he was expecting, but that was overwhelmed by the sudden, fierce pain that lanced up Wild’s back as he collided with something solid, then another as the river tossed him around without care. The pain was all Wild could focus on. He tried to breathe through it but there was only water. Darkness threatened to pull him under and Wild felt his heart seize with panic. Pain and water all around him. The Shrine of Resurrection. No! He didn’t want to go back in. he didn’t want to forget again.

Wild struggled against the water but found no purchase. The only result of his struggle was his arm smashing against yet another solid something and white hot agony racing up his whole side. He stopped flailing and tried to curl around his arm as best he could, but the current fought him. Then Wild’s head collided with something, there was a starburst of colour behind his eyelids, and Wild lost all sense of his body.

There was a soft darkness pressing in all around Wild. An eternity of nothingness in all directions. Was he dead? There was a small amount of comfort in the thought. He’d been ready to lay down his life a hundred years ago, and it would have been better if he had died then. Hyrule could have found a new hero, one who was worthy and able to defeat the Calamity. His only regret was Zelda. He was unable to fulfil his role as her knight and protector. Yet another failure to add to his list. He was distracted by a sudden, sharp pain in his chest. Wild had just enough time to think that he shouldn’t be able to feel pain if he was dead before it came again. Then a third time. Wild didn’t know what was happening, only that he hurt. The blackness around him seemed to crumble and fade. Or was he fading.

Wild jerked back to consciousness with a gasp that turned into a heaving cough. Hands rolled him onto his side as he brought up what felt like enough water to fill Lake Hylia. For several long moments he could only lie there and try to breathe. It was too much effort to even open his eyes. His head and arm throbbed in time with his fast heartbeat and his back ached. One of the hands was rubbing a gentle circle on his shoulder and Wild had just enough presence of mind to take some comfort from the gesture.

“…just jumped in. I tried to stop him but he just climbed up on the edge and leapt,” said a watery voice somewhere above him. Wild placed it after some concentration as Wind.

“He just jumped straight into a fast-moving river with lots of rocks?” said another voice, this one Wild could identify as Time.

“Yeah,” said Four. “It was like he didn’t even see the rocks at all.”

“Or care,” added Hyrule. “Here, I can heal him a bit.”

Another hand came to rest on Wild, this time brushing his wet bangs aside and gently resting on his forehead. A cool energy flowed from the hand and the throbbing in Wild’s head lessened. Wild groaned and leaned into the touch, trying to get more of that sweet relief.

“Wild? Can you hear me?” asked Time urgently.

Wild started to nod, then thought better of it when pain exploded through his skull again and hummed.

“Okay. I’m going to pick you up and bring you back to camp now,” said Time in the sort of calm voice people only used in a crisis.

The hands touching Wild fell away, and for a moment it felt like Wild fell away as well without them to ground him. Then a new pair of hands gently maneuvered Wild until he was being held with one arm below his knees and another around his shoulders.

When Time stood Wild lost the flow of the world for a bit with the jostling. It must not have been for very long because when he came back to himself Wild could feel the rhythmic movement of Time’s footsteps still.

“Will he be okay?” asked Hyrule somewhere from in front of them.

“I hope so. Sometimes…” Wind trailed off.

“Sometimes?” encouraged Time.

“Sometimes… people’s lungs fill back up again, even after they cough up all the water like Wild did,” said Wind quietly.

The grip on Wild got tighter.

“We’ll get someone to watch him through the night. Do you know how to cure it?” said Time. Wild could feel the rumble of his voice through his chest.

“No,” admitted Wind.

The sound of footsteps on the grass was all Wild could hear for an uncountable amount of time. Then shouts rang up. They must have reached the camp.

“What happened?”

“Is he okay?”

“Cub? Can you hear me?”

“Here, put him by the fire I’ll get his bedroll.”

Wild opened his eyes to an unflattering view of Time’s chin and up his nose. Deciding that wasn’t the best view he turned his head. Warriors was moving his stuff closer to the fire as the others hovered around Wild and Time. Even Legend looked worried. Wild attempted to huddle into Time, uncomfortable with the attention, and then stiffened when he realized who he was trying to hide in.

“He’s awake,” said Hyrule, stepping forward and reaching out to brush Wild’s forehead once more. Again that cool energy seeped into Wild. He sighed in relief as the pain receded a little further.

“Anyone have a fairy?” asked Time before gently setting Wild down on his bedroll.

Wild would have fallen over immediately if not for Twilight and Hyrule coming to sit on either side of him. Wild didn’t hear the answer to Time’s question as he was more focused on breathing and staying upright, but since none were produced he’d have to take the answer as no. He tried grappling with his thoughts to remember if he had one stored in the slate, but the thought was like a bar of soap; the more he tried to grip onto it the more it jettisoned itself away from him.

Absently, Wild wondered if the stew was still okay. The pot was still there with the spoon still resting where he had left it. He was so distracted in his thoughts of dinner he didn’t notice at first when Twilight and Hyrule began wrestling him out of his soaking tunic. He put up a little fight but the two of them were quick. Wild sat, shivering, as his scars were exposed to the others for the first time. He knew them intimately, having seen them in the reflections of the small pools on the Great Plateau and feeling them stretch and pull with every movement. They twisted down from his jaw, across his neck, and spiderwebbed to span almost his whole chest and down his left arm to the elbow. Wild could only imagine what it must have looked like when they put him in the shrine.

Luckily Twilight was there with a soft green tunic. He gently helped Wild put it on without a word. There was quiet conversation around the camp, but Wild tuned it out. He didn’t want to hear them talk about his scars. They were a permanent reminder of his failure as a hero and as a knight.

The night wore on, Hyrule bandaged up Wild’s arm where it had hit a river rock before sliding his own bedroll closer. Sky and Four handed out dinner and Legend took care of cleaning up afterwards. None of which Wild noticed as he fell asleep leaning on Twilight. He slept through being gently lowered onto Twilight’s lap, and did nothing more than hum peacefully as Twilight carded his fingers through his hair.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the overwhelming support for this series! Each and every comment brings me so much joy.
> 
> TW for this chapter: Discussion of (assumed) suicide attempt.

Wild woke to darkness, unsure of why he was awake. He lay still and listened to the sounds of night before the pain slammed into him. His arm and back ached, and his head felt fit to split in two. He lay there trying to breathe evenly through the pain when he realized what must have woken him up. He was not the only one awake. Others were moving about the camp. Through his half open eyes he could see Legend’s red tunic and Wind’s telltale blue shirt shifting on the other side of the dying fire. Someone shifted and snapped a twig by Wild’s feet.

“So we’re really just gonna not talk about it, huh?” said Legend quietly.

“Legend-“ began Time from somewhere beyond Wild’s field of vision, but he was cut off.

“He jumped off the bridge. Full on dove in. It wasn’t high, sure, but you’d have to be blind to miss the large sharp rocks,” said Four. There was a strange emotion in his voice.

“I’ve seen it before. People who go through something and decide they can’t live with the aftermath. We all saw his scars today,” said Warriors, sounding distant.

“We can’t know for sure until we ask,” countered Twilight. His voice was the loudest, coming from just above Wild. Realizing his head was not on the ground and instead resting on something softer he guessed he had been sleeping in Twilight’s lap.

“Then what? Kinda hard to sign the kid up for therapy in the middle of saving all of our worlds,” asked Legend.

“We can at least offer our support,” suggested Sky.

“Sometimes just being there isn’t enough to stop someone,” said Warriors gently.

There was a sniffling sound then. Quiet, like whoever it was didn’t want to be heard but the sound had gotten out anyway.

“Wind?” Time asked gently.

“I just… he wasn’t breathing when I pulled him out of the water. And you’re all just talking about it so… so calmly. He wasn’t breathing!” Wind’s voice cracked on the last word and the sound of muffled sobs echoed across the camp.

Something that felt suspiciously like guilt twisted in Wild’s stomach. There had been a korok circle. He didn’t mean to accidentally hit the rocks. Except, he had seen a stable in the distance, but he knew they were in Twilight’s Hyrule. Something wasn’t adding up. He tried to align his memories, but was distracted by the growing tickle in his throat and ache in his lungs.

“Oh, Wind,” said Warriors gently. “He’ll be alright. We just have to be able to prepare for whatever happens next.”

The urge to cough was growing in Wild’s chest. The burn of it hurt, but Wild was determined not to let them know he was awake and overhearing their conversation about him.

“Ok…” said Wind with another sniffle.

It was then Wild lost all control over his lungs and the cough ripped out of him loud and rough. Immediately there was a flurry of action around the camp but Wild was a little too preoccupied with the fact that it was not just the one cough. Every inhale sent his chest spasming and he couldn’t get enough air.

Hands grabbed him and tilted him upright and Hylia did that hurt. A hand rubbed his back gently and all Wild could do was cough wetly and choke on nothing. He didn’t know how long had passed before the coughing was replaced by wheezing gasps for air that burned in his strained lungs. Through watery eyes Wild could see everyone looking at him with concern and felt heat rise to his cheeks.

 _“I’m fine,”_ Wild signed.

“Sure, and pants are comfortable,” said Legend. The concern on his face cut the sharpness of his words.

“Legend,” sighed Time with resignation.

“What?”

Wild had to shift to see Time sitting on Twilight’s other side, which sent his chest spasming again. The coughing fit was shorter this time. It still burned deep within Wild’s chest. He rubbed absently at his sternum as he got his breathing under control and the material of his shirt was not the worn, soft cotton of his familiar blue tunic. Instead it was a thicker material.

Almost immediately his heart jumped into overdrive. The memory of Twilight helping him out of his soaked tunic came back in the hazy way of half remembered things. His scars. They had all seen his scars, and now he was awake and aware enough to care. With wide, frightened eyes he looked around the camp. The others were all looking at him with something too close to pity and the dim light of what remained of their fire twisted their expressions further.

“Wild?” Twilight’s voice snapped him back to reality.

Wild dragged himself out of his inner turmoil to turn to Twilight. Sitting as close as they were Wild could see the pinched expression on Twilight’s face where tension and worry were making thin lines around his mouth and eyes. Before Wild could stop him Twilight pressed the back of his hand to Wild’s forehead. Wiled rocked back, but not before the threaten of the frown on Twilight’s face came true.

“He’s warm,” said Twilight to the others. “Hyrule, can you help?”

Hyrule just shook his head, brown hair sweeping in front of his eyes. “Not with illness. I can help a little with injuries, but not this.”

 _“I said I’m fine,”_ signed Wild. He just wanted to go back to sleep and have everyone forget about the last twelve hours. They could forget that he jumped into the korok circle and had to be saved, they could forget about his scars.

“We’ll believe you when you’re not quite as pale,” said Time.

Wild glared at him, though it was undercut by a shiver that ran down his spine. The night air was just a little cooler than what he was used to in his own Hyrule, that was it.

“You look like a stiff breeze could knock you over,” added Sky. “We’re just worried about you, after what happened today.”

“Yeah. It was scary. You weren’t breathing when I got you out of the river, and Grandma told me once about a fisherman in our village who fell in and almost drowned, but even though they got him breathing again he still drowned hours later,” said Wind quietly.

Now awake and upright, Wild could see the hunch in Wind’s shoulders, and was sure if there was enough light to see them Wind’s eyes would be red-rimmed. Warriors was sitting beside him, one arm wrapped around Wind’s shoulders in silent comfort.

Wild shook his head. _“It’ll take more than a little water to get rid of me.”_

Another shiver rolled through Wild and he did his best to ignore it. Unfortunately, the cough that bubbled up his throat was less ignorable. The crackling in his chest hurt, and the more Wild tried to suppress his cough the worse the feeling of his lungs trying to explode out of his ribcage became.

“Fuck it. I know I have something that’ll help,” grumbled Legend as Wild coughed. “Or else none of us will be able to sleep with him causing that racket.”

Legend dug into his bag, removing a small pile of items that it seemed the bag could never hold before finally coming up with a dark purple potion. This he handed over to Wild, but there was a moment where it looked as if he were going to hand it to Twilight first.

“Alright. Only a small sip should do it,” said Legend. “Small sip.”

Wild uncorked it and sniffed. A thick, herbaceous smell drifted into his nose and his lungs spasmed in response. Once the smell was out of his nose Wild brought the bottle to his lips and took a generous gulp. The soapy taste of lavender and the sharp tang of lemon slid down his throat only through the willpower it took not to spit the whole thing back out. The syrupy texture left much to be desired. He handed the bottle back to Legend who tossed it unceremoniously back in his bag and began packing his other items back inside.

Not too long after swallowing the potion Wild was finding it hard to keep his eyes open. In his fog the only things he really registered were the cold and how he had suddenly began leaning on Twilight.

“Hey Legend, what was in that potion?” asked Time lightly.

Wild also wondered what the hell he had just consumed.

“Oh, just a bit of a really potent sleeping potion. If he’s asleep, he can’t cough, right?”

“What the fuck, Legend,” said Four, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

Time also said something, but Wild had closed his eyes, and all he could actually hear through the growing fog was just a jumble of sound in Time’s voice. He hadn’t even really registered lying down until there was the feeling of blankets being drawn up around his shoulders. The last thing he was aware of was another weight being added to his blankets and soft fur tickling at his nose.

When Wild woke in the morning he was displeased to find he was both too hot and too cold, and aching all over. The air crackled in his lungs with every breath. All in all, Wild was sick. He couldn’t remember being sick before. Not on his journey and not in any of the fractured memories he had of before. If he was being honest, he felt rather like he was dying.

So of course he picked himself up off the ground and went about his morning duties of getting everyone something for breakfast and packing up his bedroll. Wild wasn’t sure if it was Legend’s potion or the fever that he was sure was settling into his system but there was a hazy tinge to his thoughts and vision.

Not that it mattered too much. Everyone was happy with a cold hand pie from the slate for breakfast and they packed up and set off in relative silence. The others all carried the signs of exhaustion as they settled into their walk. The beautiful landscape of Twilight’s Hyrule passed by in an unmemorable blur. It seemed like every few steps Wild was coughing. Sometimes it was just a few little rumbles, other times it was enough to force him to stop and catch his breath.

Twilight was a constant presence throughout the day. Wind as well, though he was occasionally distracted by something and would run off to investigate. The others varied in their hovering, though would all draw close when one of the bad coughing fits started. At first Wild didn’t mind the concerned looks, but by the afternoon he was itching to be out of sight. If he had the energy he would have run straight into the woods and only returned once he could get rid of the heavy feeling of eyes on him.

“There’s a farm not too much farther down the road. We can probably trade a night in the barn for some chores. We can make it to a town with a proper inn tomorrow,” said Twilight, breaking the day’s long silence.

“Sounds good to me,” said Sky.

“As long as it isn’t mucking out the barn I’m fine with it,” said Warriors with a grimace.

Wild was just glad he would be able to sit down soon. His body felt heavier with each passing hour, and his head more foggy. At this point he was simply following the swaying blue strip of Warrior’s scarf to stay with the others.

To that point, Wild only noticed they had arrived at their destination when he was standing outside a large wooden barn. Blinking away the fog that had obscured his thoughts, Wild looked around to see they were no longer even in the forest. Instead they were standing in a patch of pasture surrounded by fields with crops just starting to bud with their fruits. A couple sturdy looking ponies grazed nearby, not bothered by the appearance of a bunch of strange men in their field.

The inside of the barn was dusty but warm, and none of them would complain about the smell of animals with a roof over their heads. Heck, Wild loved staying at stables with their homey beds and the sounds of animals nearby. Twilight led the way up a solidly built ladder into the hayloft and began setting up his bedroll and depositing his gear beside it. The others followed suit, though Wild found that once his own bedroll was laid out it was the most inviting thing he had ever seen. All he wanted to do was curl up and sleep until his chest stopped feeling like it was on fire.

Still, they had to do the work Twilight had promised the farmers for their stay in the barn. Wild turned with a sigh to the ladder, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Time stood there, a crease in between his brows and the beginning of a frown tugging at the corners of his lips. The serious face. Twilight and Warriors hovered behind him, also wearing looks that made Wild nervous.

“Four, Sky, how about you take Wind, Hyrule, and Legend and see what needs doing. We’re just going to be a second,” said Time.

Legend absolutely looked like he was going to argue, and so did Hyrule. They were not so gently ushered away by Sky and Four, with Wind trailing behind them like a despondent puppy. While they left, Twilight guided Wild to a bale of hay and sat them both down on it. Time and Warriors each took a seat on their own bales as well. They were quiet as the others left the barn and their voices faded, aside from Wild’s lungs deciding they needed to be coughed up.

Twilight gently rubbed his back until the coughing fit subsided. When Wild finally, finally could breathe again he looked up into three stormy faces.

“Wild,” Time started. His voice was heavy and sombre. “We need to talk about what happened yesterday.”

 _“What about it?”_ Wild signed.

“You jumped into a fast-moving river littered with sharp rocks. If Wind wasn’t close by, you would have died,” said Warriors. His tone was different than usual. Too matter of fact. Wild guessed this was his report voice.

 _“There was a korok circle. I needed the seed. Did anyone collect it for me?”_ explained Wild.

There was a look of stunned confusion on the other’s faces. They all glanced at each other, leaving Wild to look between the three of them with growing confusion. It was clearly not the answer they had been expecting.

“What’s a korok circle?” asked Twilight.

 _“You know, like a test. Jump through the circle, complete the puzzle, shoot the target,”_ signed Wild.

“Maybe in your Hyrule. I haven’t heard of anything like that before,” said Warriors.

“Yeah, no, definitely not a thing here,” confirmed Twilight.

“You understand why we were worried, and why we wanted to talk to you, right?” asked Time. The sombre expression still hadn’t quite left his face.

Wild nodded. It wasn’t Sheika science to figure it out, especially after overhearing the others’ conversation in the middle of the night.

 _“Don’t worry. I’m not going to die until I can defeat the Calamity,”_ signed Wild. He didn’t have to tell them that he couldn’t die before then whether he wanted to or not. At least, not with Mipha watching over him.

“Good,” said Time.

There was a collective feeling of relief and the air in the hayloft grew lighter.

“Now that’s over, how long did you plan on walking around sick?” asked Time. There was a smile on his face now, but not a kind one. More of a sharp, angry sort of smile. Wild immediately glanced to Twilight for help, but found a furrowed brow and his green eyes screamed disapproval. A glance to Warriors caught him sneaking towards the ladder at the edge of the loft.

 _“I dodn’t want to slow us down,”_ signed Wild. _“I’m fine.”_

“You’re fine and I’m a Great Fairy,” Twilight sighed. “Did you ever think about what if you got worse?”

_“You could leave me behind.”_

“We’re not going to leave you behind, Wild,” said Time gently. “In fact, we’re going to tuck you into your bedroll and force you to stay in there until you’re better. Don’t make me get Four to sit on you to keep you there.”

_“What about dinner?”_

“Time can handle a cooking pot. Not as well as you, but at least it’ll be edible.”

Time gave Twilight a half-hearted glare. “I think I resent that comment, Pup.”

Twilight stuck his tongue out at him. Laughter bubbled up in Wild and escaped in a breathy mockery of the sound before dissolving into a hacking cough that made his ribs feel like bands of white hot iron compressing around his chest.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed,” said Time, offering a hand to Wild.

Wild declined the help and stood on his own two shaky feet. Luckily his bedroll was only a few steps away. Time and Twilight both hovered as he got settled in, seeming to want to help but also trying not to seem like they were ready to jump to attention. Once Wild was comfortable, Twilight crouched down next to him and pulled off his wolf pelt.

“A little extra warmth,” said Twilight as he tucked it around Wild.

“We’ll be down in the barn if you need us,” said Time.

Wild nodded. His eyes were starting to feel heavy. The weight of the pelt was comforting, even if it did smell faintly of wet dog and tickle at his skin. He watched the two of them leave the hayloft through half open eyes before finally letting them close. Slowly, the sounds of barn work reached his ears, along with someone humming an oddly familiar tune. Feeling young and safe, Wild drifted into a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you all so much for leaving so many kind comments!! I have an idea for the next story, but what adventure do you think the boys will encounter next?

**Author's Note:**

> So! this was somewhat inspired by a dream i had MONTHS ago that actually inspired me to start writing LU fics in the first place. the dream was Wild jumping into a river while mistaking a circle of rocks for a korok circle while in another hyrule and hurting his back. 
> 
> I get the feeling chapter two will be a sickfic chapter!
> 
> If you liked it please please please leave a comment! Love me those comments and they get you chapters quicker!


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